Medical Breakthrough Toward a Potential Cure for Type 1 Diabetes

 

There are millions of people around the world who are suffering from Type 1 diabetes. Unlike the more common and milder Type 2 diabetes (which is normally caused by unhealthy lifestyle), Type 1 diabetes is a genetic condition. If you have Type 1 diabetes, your immune system attacks and destroys the beta cells in the pancreas that are responsible for producing the hormone insulin. Insulin regulates the glucose (sugar) level in our bloodstream. Without insulin, our blood sugar can spike (rise and then fall sharply). This is the reason why people with Type 1 diabetes require taking insulin shots for the rest of their lives. Not doing so would be very lethal to their health like losing consciousness without any warning.

Recently, there has been a medical breakthrough for a potential treatment of Type 1 diabetes through stem cell therapy. Dr. Doug Melton, a Harvard University biologist who works for Vertex Pharmaceuticals, discovers a way to treat Type 1 diabetes with an insulin-making cells derived from stem cells. It’s a way to reverse Type 1 diabetes by giving them back the insulin cells they are missing.

Brian Shelton was the first patient who participated in the clinical trial by Vertex Pharmaceuticals. In 2021, he received his first dose of insulin-producing stem cells and got initial positive results. After 150 days, his body started to automatically control its blood sugar level and reduced his dependency on insulin injection by 92%. There is just one challenge though. Mr. Shelton needs to take immunosuppressive drug to protect the insulin-producing stem cells being rejected by his immune system.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is still in the process of developing an encapsulated insulin-producing stem cells to eliminate the need for immunosuppression drugs. The company also says that the clinical trial will continue for about 5 more years involving 17 people with severe cases of Type 1 diabetes. They want to replicate the same positive result as Mr. Shelton before they could finally make the treatment available to the public market.

As to the potential target patients of this treatment, they are interested to know if there would be any adverse effects and if the stem cell treatment would last for a lifetime with just a single infusion. Still, for people suffering with Type 1 diabetes all their lives, this is a medical breakthrough that they could look forward to.

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